Energy: A reason to come home

I recently had an opportunity to sit in on the Mount Carmel Supper Club at Mattucci's. The supper club is a quaint gathering established years ago to recognize student athletes in our area. One of the main focuses of the club is to raise funds to benefit those families with children who participate in sports, but may not be as fortunate as others. The club has a noble agenda, which has provided assistance to countless students since its inception.

As the assembly of local sports enthusiasts convened their weekly session, I soon came to realize that these individuals were no ordinary folks. The individuals that participate in this ritual are extraordinary people. All of them live, work and play in the lower anthracite region, and all have made this area their home.

As dinner began, the moderators opened the dinner with a number of remarks, but the single comment that was most striking was that of the 68 or so individuals who had gathered in the room that evening, two had extended careers as pro-football players, a state champion wrestler, and a list of other former student athletes that went on to school and left the region to learn and grow and become something more.

As my eyes surveyed the room, I saw individuals that had left our area to go on to college and others that had stayed. One undeniable fact that stared back at me was that these coal crackers loved this area so much that they all decided at some point in their lives that this would be their lifelong home. There was a sitting judge who has distinguished himself throughout his career. Across from me was a former local track star who returned from school and has established himself as one of the premier dentists in the area. Businessmen, who have launched successful businesses including a local pharmacist and family medical group executive, whom each in their own right have given back to the community over and over again. A former naval intelligence officer who came back to teach in our area, and even in retirement is an active and vibrant part of our community. A former police officer and hardware store owner who is self-made, and has dedicated his retirement years to assisting young student athletes in being the best they can be. The list goes on and on.

These persons, along with thousands of other professionals, business men and women, doctors, lawyers and others, returned home and became part of our community - deliberate acts by each. Their choices have helped to maintain our area and continue to spark hope that the anthracite region will continue on. So often we hear from others about there being nothing here for young adults to return to, when nothing can be further from the truth. Every citizen who has stayed here and has become a thread of the fabric of our community makes it stronger. Working together now, we are making a difference, and what a difference.

The News-Item reported on a recent announcement by Keystone Energy Technology Enterprise Center (KETEC) on a partnership with Drexel University and its student cooperative program. What does this really mean for our area's future, and what outcomes can we expect?

Drexel University staff first visited our area in early summer to discuss the possibility of hosting cooperative students in Mount Carmel at KETEC. Drexel representatives came to evaluate the quality of the program KETEC was offering and to determine if there was value here for the university to invest. No one can truly know all the outcomes of this partnership, but one can infer where it may lead.

Drexel University is one of the top engineering schools in Pennsylvania and the nation. Established in 1891 in Philadelphia, Drexel is home to almost 20,000 students. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in many disciplines and produces some of the top engineers in the world.

Drexel's co-op program is world-renowned and sends students out to over 1,300 companies in 29 states and 17 international locations. Among the oldest and largest university co-operatives in the nation, it is also the only one in Pennsylvania. Our ability to attract Drexel University as a partner in our endeavors in the renewable/alternative energy development sector is critical to the future of this region.

The partnership with Drexel is more than about just bring students here from Philadelphia. The young men and women have diverse backgrounds, and come from families and communities all over the world.

These individuals are now living in our community year round, and represent a core group of people who are investing in our future. They bring young ideas and abilities to the table, with a fresh perspective on how to improve the economy and quality of life for the coal region.

In return, we provide the students a place they can call home while exposing them to small-town America and our own unique community values. The ultimate hope is that this relationship will begin to grow the local economy through the use of renewable energy such as wind, solar, geothermal and clean coal, while working to develop new technologies to reduce pollution and protect our energy future.

These students will be working with others groups in the area not only to establish the KETEC, but to develop the first "green" home in the area. The home will become a living model and demonstration project that future co-operative students and professionals will actually live in. Simultaneously, these students are exposed to our community, its people and its values.

Consider for a moment what this means in the 21st century, with the advent of telecommunications and international travel. These students living, working and playing here in the anthracite region are relaying their personal experiences back to friends and families all over the world. The students - through the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, texting, e-mailing, and the spoken word - are relaying their day-to-day experiences to many other young professionals, family and friends.

The Drexel co-operative students are being exposed to the same experiences that men and women from our area who have chosen to return home to be part of our community have encountered growing up. As these temporary citizens of our area come in contact with others from the region, a slow transformation will begin to take place.

They will recognize, as we already have, that the lower anthracite is a place to call home. These individuals are working together to start the revitalization process for our region. Drexel, a world-class learning and research institute, is investing some of its best and brightest minds to create KETEC, and provide a compelling argument to state and federal officials that we can coordinate and manage a program of this magnitude.

Certainly, our own home-grown students and athletes know this already, because they have returned to make our community a better and stronger place to live. These visitors from Drexel have taken up our cause and are one of the sparks we need to ignite a plan of revitalization for the whole lower anthracite region.

(Bartos is renewable/green energy coordinator for the lower anthracite region through the office of state Rep. Robert E. Belfanti Jr., D-107. "Green Light" appears every other Thursday.)

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